


School Reunions (What Are You Doing With Your Life?)

by nerdyydragon



Series: Kingsman Tumblr Ficlets [70]
Category: Kingsman (2014), Kingsman (2015), Kingsman (Movies)
Genre: Fake/Pretend Relationship, Getting Together, M/M, inappropriate workplace actions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-17
Updated: 2016-12-30
Packaged: 2018-09-09 04:05:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,474
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8875264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nerdyydragon/pseuds/nerdyydragon
Summary: When Harry had received the RSVP for his university reunion, his first thought hadn't been "Will I be able to take the night off?" like a rational human being, it was "Dear Lord, please let Eggsy agree to go."





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer*  
> Also - if you guys want, I can write a second chapter for this so we can all watch our boys flounder and attempt to explain their relationship (but let me know?)

Harry absolutely hated school reunions. Not because he had hated going to school, nor was it because he was unable to lie convincingly about what he did for a living (learning and falsehood were tools of his trade, and he excelled at them). No, Harry hated school reunions because he had gone to school with other people, and those people were bigoted rich snobs with too much money and not enough brainpower.

He had all barely resisted dropping to his knees and begging Eggsy to attend with him (his motives had been purely selfish - from what little contact he had maintained with his old schoolmates, a significant chunk were either on their second marriage or married to someone significantly younger, or both. Eggsy was prettier than all of them, and Harry had no qualms about showing off the other man as his own. Even if it was fake). He had agreed, in the end, but not before many, many promises of dinners and a visit to Harry’s family manor in the Leicester countryside. And possibly a car, though Harry had balked at the thought of the man behind the wheel of anything similar to that Bond cad, no matter how much thrill he got at the idea).

“Why couldn’t they have just held the damn thing at the school? It’s certainly big enough.” Eggsy mused from the passenger seat. Yes, Oxford was certainly large enough to hold a reunion of this caliber, but that wasn’t entirely the point.

“It’s about money, darling.” Harry chastised himself; how many times had he caught himself spewing endearments? If he wasn’t more careful, he would have to deal with the distance that Eggsy would put between them at the expense of the follies of a lonely man. Eggsy snorted.

“Yeah, if there’s one thing you posh blokes like to do it’s shower everyone around you in your self-imposed halos made of solid gold.”  _ Ouch _ . Eggsy was silent for a moment, and rolled his lower lip between his teeth. Harry tried not to stare, not to think about what it would be like to have his own lip caught like that. “You think I’ll do okay? I’m not really cut out for this sort of thing.”

“You’ll be fine. You can play the rich man well enough to fool people who worked for Richmond Valentine, and many who are much smarter. I guarantee you that this isn’t going to be an issue, not with that suit you’re wearing.” He caught his eye. “But if it makes you feel better, if you’re uncomfortable with a question you can always play the power dynamic card and pass it off to me. My colleagues would expect nothing less.”

“Oh yeah, sure, I definitely look like the type of guy who has a daddy kink.”

“Young, almost excessively attractive man showing up on the arm of someone like me? It wouldn’t be a stretch.” Eggsy gaped at his self-depreciation.

“Yes, because I’m definitely the more attractive one here. Harry, you’re an idiot.” They were silent for the remainder of the drive, Harry mulling over what Eggsy could have possibly meant. Surely he was just being kind, he lad was known for it after all.

His thoughts soon turned to the reunion again, and Harry tried to apply the last layer of varnish to his reserve. He could do this. They could do this, together. It wouldn’t be any different than a mission. They would be fine, the two of them. He must have looked worried, because Eggsy laced their fingers together. Feeling a cold band press into his skin, Harry looked down.

“Hope you don’t mind, but I nicked this from the desk drawer in your office. Figured it would make it more convincing, having us be engaged. Would give you something to do, too - fabricate that story.” Harry looked at the ring again and swallowed thickly. It looked organic, natural, on Eggsy’s fourth finger, as if it had never meant to be anywhere but there. If he was being honest, he had never liked his father’s wedding band more than he did in this moment. Misinterpreting his silence, Eggsy made to take it off.

“No, leave it.” Eggsy smiled at him, and then without warning kissed him. Not hard, or sensually, just enough brush of lips that it could be called a kiss.

“We’ll be fine, yeah? It’ll be fine.” He nodded in return, not trusting himself to speak. Of course it would, Eggsy was there with him.

Before he could stop him, Eggsy had let himself out of the car and paused only to take a deep breath before joining Harry around the other side, once he had brought enough of his brain back online to force himself out of the car. Tucking himself snugly under Harry’s arm, the pair made their way up the steps to the hotel where the reunion was being held, Harry showing their invitation to the man at the door before their coats were taken and they were directed to a ballroom.  


“A ballroom, a  _ ballroom _ , Harry I don’t know how to waltz. Tango, yes. Waltz? No.” Eggsy was panicking. Roxy had been teaching him different posh dances, but they hadn’t covered the waltz yet, and the word ballroom was making him nervous. Harry’s hand on his waist tightened and pulled him to a halt, turning him gently.   


“Odds are you won’t have to go along with dancing of any sort, darling.” Harry winced internally at his slip. “And if we do, just follow my lead.” Eggsy looked up at him, eyes pleading.  


“I just don’t want to embarrass you.” Placing a lingering kiss to Eggsy’s forehead, Harry sighed.  


“The  _ last  _ thing you’re going to do is embarrass me, Eggsy. Now, shall we?” They walked the last few paces to the large set of double doors, one of which was standing open and featured a man who appeared older than Harry standing next to it.   


“Well if it isn’t Henry Hart, after all this time.” From the man’s tone, they could tell that while they were warmly received, they were also late. As usual. Eggsy had had a rather difficult time getting Harry out of his fog of doubt and self-pity in order to actually get them out the door somewhat on time, but traffic (as he had expected it to be) had been horrible. They were, as a result, the last to arrive.  


Harry nodded politely at the man and they entered the room, and from their place on the stairs Eggsy could see an assortment of Harry’s old university ilk milling about the room, some without partners but most of the members attached. He could see now why Harry had been so desperate for him to attend. Harry looked down at Eggsy, and saw the lingering apprehension hiding under his otherwise perfect act of confidence. Tilting the man’s face upward with two fingers under his jaw, he kissed him as Eggsy had done earlier: soft and reassuring, though whether it was for himself or Eggsy he couldn’t be sure. Then, taking his hand, they descended the steps and into the fire. Eyes followed them, though whether it was Harry’s appearance in the room (he was rather well known in his time at university) or Eggsy’s keeping himself close to Harry’s side, they gathered quite a few stares. Making first for the drink table before they were found by anyone who had the courage to approach them before dinner, Harry’s only response to anyone paying attention was to slip his hand lower on Eggsy’s side so that it rested on his hip rather than his waist, splaying his fingers and nonverbally telling anyone that  _ yes, he is here with me, and yes, that is, in fact, a ring.  _ Eggsy, for his part, put on a bravado that said  _ go ahead, try me _ , even if the rest of his body language was clearly doting on Harry.   


Eggsy had been right, they were going to be just fine.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Your awaited second chapter (brownie points to anyone who can pick out the movie reference I made - if you need a hint, it wasn't from Kingsman)

The longer they sat at the table, the more Eggsy was tempted to slip a little bit of poison into the wine and end it. He could see now why Harry had said he hated interacting with these people so much; it took a special sort of person to practically talk for hours without saying a word of anything important. So far all that had been passed around the table were mindless comments about the stock market, and the latest ladies fashion, and, much to his chagrin, how unfortunate it was that the planet was still dying, despite Richmond Valentine’s valiant effort to save it almost two years ago. Harry had almost shattered his wine glass on that one, but Eggsy had managed to save it by slipping a hand up his thigh to distract him. Harry was better than this - and there was no reason why he should be making himself so transparently against his colleagues.

“Gary, how did the two of you meet?” Angela Price was by far the least annoying member of their table, and Eggsy was glad, at least, to be making polite conversation with her, even if she did keep trying to grab his attention by not-so-subtly adjusting the scoop-neck of her dress. “I’m sorry if that was too forward, but I just couldn’t stop my curiosity.”

“We met in Budapest, actually, three years ago. Harry was working - international job, you know, fashion waits for no one - and I was holidaying with a group of friends. It sort of, escalated from there, really.” For effect, Eggs sent a soft, open glance at Harry, who smiled into his bite of smoked salmon, shaking his head gently as he chewed. “It was nice, and Harry was nothing if not _entirely_ romantic.”

“You and I remember Budapest _very differently_ ,” Harry said under his breath, solely for Eggsy to hear. The two of them had been to Budapest exactly once, but it involved a fair amount more guns and less visiting museums and locking themselves away in hotel rooms for steamy nights indoors. Taking another sip of his wine and continuing, Harry smiled again. “That was where I proposed, just earlier this summer, wasn’t it darling?” Eggsy nodded, dropping his head briefly onto Harry’s shoulder.

“It was, and I absolutely adored it. You know I kept it a secret for approximately five minutes?” Harry smiled, as though that memory had really existed.

“And then you called nearly everyone you knew.” Across the table, Angela clapped her hands together.

“Oh, that is _so_ sweet. Howard, why couldn’t you have done something like that?” Eggsy thought that Howard was too married to his work and lamenting having to be away from it for even one night to take much notice what his wife was saying, but nobody had asked for Eggsy’s opinion and he wasn’t about to give it. “At any rate, I’m happy for the both of you. It’s always nice to see two people finding the one they’re meant for.”

Harry almost choked on his drink, and Eggsy looked at him with concern. The concept of being with him couldn’t be _that_ bad, could it? Harry hadn’t seemed offended earlier when he had discovered Eggsy was wearing his father’s ring, so it couldn’t have been their cover relationship that was the problem. He didn’t want to think it was _him_ either, since he and Harry had always gotten on well, especially after Eggsy was instated properly at Kingsman. But he couldn’t help wondering if maybe he was reading the whole situation wrong, and that the kisses they had shared earlier, the tender glances, were all just for the benefit of their cover. He knew that the first kiss in the car had been on purpose - he had wanted to reassure Harry, and what better way to get himself in the headspace of being in love with someone was to show that he actually _was_ in love with them? Maybe Harry had misread him? Harry, who had recovered from his momentary slip, made up for Eggsy’s pensive silence, taking his hand and kissing Eggsy’s knuckles gently.

“Yes, I would like to think that I have.” The look in Harry’s eyes _couldn’t_ have been fake, he didn’t want to believe that it was, but now he wasn’t sure. Eggsy supposed that was a hazard of trying to have relationships in the type of business they were in; you never knew if the other person was telling the truth.

“I know I have.” Eggsy didn’t even mean to say it, the words had just slipped past his lips before he could stop them. He could feel his face heat up, and Angela squealed again. Eggsy bit down on his bottom lip, knowing that he had been heard, even if no one at the table would find it out of the ordinary.

The table was quiet for some time after that, and they had almost finished their meals before anyone spoke again. Eggsy was thankful for the quiet. He could still hear the people at the tables around them talking, but for once he didn’t have to focus on anything but the food in front of him. His mind wandered again, trying to make sense of Harry, figuring out where he _actually_ stood with the other man. Once this whole affair was over, he would talk to him about it. Even if it meant that Harry would be more distant from him than before, he couldn’t go on like this, not knowing. He didn’t like it.

“That was, I think, one of the best dishes I’ve had in awhile.” Eggsy nodded in agreement, though he didn’t look at the man next to him. Neither he - a man by the name of Matthew Lewis - nor his wife had spoken hardly at all the entire time, and as a result Eggsy didn’t quite know how to interact with him. “You know, I had the same meal at a restaurant a month ago? The service there was absolutely horrible. Young wait staff, you know. Didn’t appreciate the benefit of prompt service.” Eggsy managed to suppress his grimace, but Harry had no such composure.

“Are you sure they weren’t simply overworked? The service industry is notorious for running their staff ragged.” Eggsy closed his eyes and took a breath in through his nose, then opened his eyes again. Though Harry’s words were polite, the last time he had heard that tone come out of the other man’s mouth was through a video feed in South Glade Mission Church. This was swiftly gaining the possibility of an escalation that he didn’t want. Harry was being ridiculous, and for the life of him he couldn’t understand _why_. There was no reason, in a setting like this, for Harry to get so worked up over something that appeared so trivial. Matthew, next to him, shook his head.

“There was hardly anyone else in the dining room with us. _I_ think that they were simply being lazy - doing the bare minimum in order to get paid. There are places for laze-abouts like them.” Eggsy pinched the bridge of his nose, and thanked whoever was watching over him that he was between Harry and Matthew, and not the other way around. Across the table, Angela looked between the three of them curiously.

“Are you implying that there are people who don’t deserve the freedom to work for their own way in life? Because if you are, Matthew, then we’re going to have words, you and I.” Matthew raised an eyebrow imperiously, clearly not used to being challenged. “There is not a person alive who deserves anything less than the same as the people in this room, and they should not be treated any differently simply because they were born into a different way of life than we were.”

“I think, Harry, that I am inclined to tell you that you’re wrong.” _Oh no_. Eggsy let out a groan.

What happened next Eggsy couldn’t quite follow, but one minute Harry was sitting more or less quietly next to him, the next his wine glass had splintered so severely that Eggsy was sure he was bleeding, and the two men had both risen and were glaring at each other over Eggsy’s head. Looking up at the two of them, Eggsy put his hand on Harry’s thigh to get his attention.

“ _Harry,_ that is _quite_ enough.” Harry looked down at Eggsy, his eyes murderous. “ _It’s fine._ ” He tried to put the words ‘back down, please,’ into the look on his face. Harry sighed heavily, and moved to help Eggsy up from his chair.

“Terribly sorry. Had a little accident, about a year or so ago, and my temper hasn’t quite been the same since. But if you will excuse us, I think it’s best if we take our leave.” Harry turned without saying anything further, and Eggsy smiled apologetically at the remaining four members at the table.

“Sorry about that, really. It _was_ nice to meet you all.” Eggsy weaved in and out of tables, following Harry who seemed determined to leave the room as quickly as possible without making it seem as though he was running away. He was clenching on hand rather tightly, and Eggsy knew he had been right about Harry having hurt himself on the glass. The two of them left the ballroom, with only a polite nod to the man on the stairs, and Harry lengthened his stride down the empty hallway, Eggsy jogging slightly to keep up. “ _What on Earth was that about?_ ” Harry grimaced.

“You know that I don’t like people with superiority complexes.” Eggsy waited for him to continue. “And in case you didn’t pick up on it, he was also making a pointed jab at people who live in estate housing.”

“Oh, I am _very_ aware of what he was saying. What I don’t understand was why you were ready to go Arthur on his ass in the middle of a crowded room.” Harry slowed to a stop and looked down at him incredulously.

“Because you don’t deserve to be disrespected like that.” Harry’s jaw clamped shut, and Eggsy smirked.

“ _I_ don’t deserve to be disrespected like that, hm?” Harry must have seen Eggsy leaning into his space, because he took a half-step back and continued down the hallway. They were almost at the coat check, and there was _no_ way Eggsy was going to lose this golden opportunity.

“People don’t deserve to be disrespected like that. It’s rude.” Harry swallowed. “I meant people. Just now.”

“ _Sure_ . Hey Harry?” Harry turned to look at him, slowing his stride again, and Eggsy pulled him down by his tie. _This_ kiss wasn’t just for show. He meant it, and he made sure Harry knew it. Pulling back, Harry looked dazed. Bouncing on the balls of his feet, Eggsy grinned and took off down the hall backwards. “If you can catch me, you’ll get another one!” Eggsy continued running backwards until he saw Harry shake himself and break into a sprint. He could feel his eyes widen before he spun around and kicked into gear, and he made it to the counter of the coat check before he could feel Harry tug him backwards into his chest and hand a slip of paper to the man at the desk. Harry’s breath was hot against his ear.

“I think this means _I win_.” Eggsy managed a chuckle, even if he was suddenly desperate to get into the car and back to Harry’s flat. At least now Harry knew where he stood.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't leave this without an appearance from everyone's favourite Scot, so here it is. This final chapter's a little bit wonky I suppose, just because of the formatting, but at least this way we get to see how some other agents take this development. Not quite sure how I feel about it, though. I'd also like to thank everyone who's read and commented, it really means a lot!

Merlin had been having, for lack of a better term, a  _ long  _ day. Bors and Percival had almost blown up no less than three buildings in Berlin, Gawaine had somehow managed to seduce both his target and  _ four other people _ , and what was worse, Washington wouldn’t leave him alone. After the whole Kentucky debacle on V-Day and the subsequent discovery of the American branch thanks to Harry deciding he didn’t like the rules, his phone had been ringing non-stop in requests for inter-division cooperation. It was maddening, and at this point coffee simply wasn’t enough.

“ _ Arthur is in his office, sir, if you have any pressing matters you would like to discuss with him _ .” King’s betrayal had led to extra security precautions around the manor - it wasn’t that he didn’t trust Harry, but there had been a unanimous vote that no matter who held office, there should be checks and balances on their actions. Hence the secretary that was speaking through his communications link. “ _ Though I should warn you, Excalibur is with him _ .” Merlin huffed.

“Thank you, I think I may just pay them a visit.” He had a feeling that no matter how his day continued on from here, it couldn’t possibly be worse than what had already happened.

Getting up from his chair and stretching, Merlin made his way to Arthur’s office, where he knew Harry and Eggsy would be, nose buried in the many different files flashing around his tablet screen. He had divisions to run, and as much as he would like to see his friend, there was still work to do. It wasn’t until he was nearly a hall away from his destination when things started to change. Kay, their second oldest agent - right after Harry himself - passed him in the hallway accompanied by the young woman who had been his successful proposal for Lamorak’s position. They both looked like they were going to be sick.

“Afternoon, sir.” Both agents nodded at him. “Visiting Arthur?” Merlin nodded.

“I wouldn’t, if I were you.” He raised an eyebrow at them.

“If you would be so kind as to explain, agent Lamorak, it would be much appreciated.” Merlin tucked his tablet into his side and tapped his foot. “Why, exactly, should I avoid seeing Arthur?” The two agents glanced between each other.

“Excalibur is there, you see. He was with Arthur during our debrief.” Merlin pursed his lips, deciding to give Harry a stern what-for. “Well,  _ with _ Arthur may have been a stretch. He was there when we arrived, but instead of leaving when he realized why we were there, he just,” Lamorak stalled. “He escorted himself into the private antechamber.” Merlin knew the one. Arthur’s office was less a singular room and more a series of connected ones - the first section being where he would come across the man’s secretary, the second being the actual office itself, and the third being a private room that had all of the amenities that the rooms designated for agents staying at the manor also had. Merlin sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“What, if I may ask, were they doing when you arrived?” Lamorak blushed, and bit down on her tongue.

“We aren’t entirely sure what the two of them were doing, but I honestly  _ am  _ surprised that the human body can hold one position for that long.” Merlin thanked the two of them and sighed heavily again, stepping past them and continuing down the hall. It was possible that his day  _ could  _ get worse than it already had. He had meant to ask Harry how the reunion had gone, but it seemed that it had succeeded in one count: the two of them had finally pulled their heads out of their asses. Pulling out his tablet, he fired off an email to both men, with the workplace fraternization forms attached and his desire for prompt reading and signatures bolded.

His second interaction, strange as it was, was with Roxy. She had just come out of Arthur’s office herself, her face flushed and a grin on her face.

“Afternoon, Merlin.” He nodded, then turned on his heel to follow her path.

“Lancelot, wait a moment, would you?” She turned to look at him, smile dimmed but still firmly in place. “What were you doing in Arthur’s office?” She shrugged, one shoulder rising higher than the other.

“Oh, you know, just visiting with Morgana.” Merlin hadn’t liked the choice of codename for the new employee, thought it had too many dangerous implications, but then one of the other candidates for Eggsy’s new codename had been  _ Mordred _ , so he sensed a running theme. All of that aside, Mary, the young woman they had hired, was excellent at her job. “We’re friends.” Merlin raised an eyebrow again, and Roxy coloured slightly.

“But you didn’t notice anything odd coming from Arthur’s office?” Roxy shook her head. He would have been surprised if she had, considering all the private rooms were soundproof. “Thank you, carry on.”

Opening the door to the first room in Arthur’s office chain, Merlin smiled politely at Mary, who looked more than slightly dazed. Shaking his head, putting together that particular look with the fact that Roxy had just vacated the room, he went to open the door.

“Oh, I wouldn’t go in there if I were you, sir.” Merlin looked down to where she was seated at her desk.

“You know, you aren’t the first person today to tell me that?” Opening the door and slipping inside, Merlin managed to survey the room for all of five seconds before promptly clamping a hand over his eyes. “Harry, I’ve known you a rather significant portion of our lives, so I can’t honestly say that I’m surprised, but I  _ did _ expect better from you.” It would take hours of looking at small print and reviewing video footage to get the image of Eggsy, flat on his back across Harry’s desk with both legs around the other man’s waist and half of his shirt unbuttoned, sufficiently bleached from his retinas. Not that Harry looked much better; his hair had been looked like it was caught in a wind tunnel and his tie was askew, though Merlin wasn’t sure what else from the brief glimpse he had caught of the two of them, and Harry had been rather bent over the younger man. “If you could kindly get off the desk, Eggsy?” Somebody chuckled, and then there was a rather significant amount of rustling fabric.

“Okay, you’re good to look now.” Merlin uncovered his eyes to find Eggsy seated on Harry’s lap, shirt still not entirely buttoned, but at least he was upright. Taking a seat across from them tentatively, Merlin looked between the two of them.

“So I take it your reunion went well, did it?” The two men looked at each other, then burst into laughter.

“I would say so.” Harry’s voice was warm, far too warm for whatever was happening here to be anything less than a commitment. Merlin knew how Harry felt about Eggsy, had heard about it countless times. The look on his friend’s face was soft, open,  _ happy _ , that he couldn’t help smiling a little bit.

“I believe congratulations are in order, then.”


End file.
